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06/19/2006 - Advisory Parks & Recreation CommissionApproved July 17, 2006 ADVISORY PARKS COMMISSION EAGAN, MINNESOTA MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF JUNE 19, 2006 A regular meeting of the Advisory Parks Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on June 19, 2006 with the following Commission Members present: Joseph Bari, Phil Belfiori, Margo Danner, N. Mark Filipi, Laurie Halverson, Duane Hansen, Muhammed Lodhi, Dorothy Peterson and Richard Pletcher. Ryan Zipf was not present. Staff included Director of Parks and Recreation Juli Seydell Johnson; Superintendent of Operations Cherryl Mesko; Superintendent of Parks Paul Olson; Water Resources Coordinator Eric Macbeth, Forestry Supervisor Gregg Hove, Recreation Facilities Manager Sonya Rippe, Recreation Program Manager Paula Nowariak, City Planner Pam Dudziak and Recording Secretary Lori Kimball. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Member Filipi moved, Member Bari seconded; with all present members voting in favor to approve the agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF May 15, 2006 Member Bari moved and Member Danner seconded with all present members voting in favor to approve the May 15, 2006 minutes as presented. VISITORS TO BE HEARD There were no visitors to be heard. DIRECTORS UPDATE Director Johnson provided a brief overview of activities and events within the department. CONSENT AGENDA Member Bari moved and Member Danner seconded, with all present members voting to recommend to the City Council the following: Kennealy Ridge Apartments 1. This proposal shall be responsible for a cash parks dedication. 2. This proposal shall be responsible for a cash trails dedication. 3. The applicant shall be required to fulfill tree mitigation requirements through the installation of one hundred seventy-eight (178) Category B trees, and a cash payment of $22,500.00. 4. The applicant shall be required to protect the preserved tree's critical root zones through the placement of required Tree Protective measures (i.e. orange colored silt fence or 4 foot polyethylene laminate safety netting), to be installed at the Drip Line or at the perimeter of the Critical Root Zone, whichever is greater, of significant trees/woodlands to be preserved on-site. 5. The applicant shall be required to contact the City Forestry Division and set up a pre- construction site inspection at least five days prior to the issuance of the grading permit to ensure compliance with the approved Tree Preservation Plan and placement of the Tree Protection Fencing. Advisory Parks Commission Minutes of Regular Meeting of June 19, 2006 Page 2 6. Two ponds should be utilized to treat stormwater runoff as proposed. The ponds should have dimensions acceptable to City standards. • Eagan Hills Alliance Church 1. This proposal shall be responsible for a cash parks dedication as applicable. 2. This proposal shall be responsible for a cash trails dedication as applicable 3. This proposal shall be responsible for a cash dedication in lieu of on-site water quality ponding. DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS Novus-Manley Commercial City Planner Pam Dudziak, provided background stating that Manley Commercial Inc. is requesting approval of a Preliminary Subdivision for the proposed development of a 90,000 sq. ft. private school for grades 7-12, associated athletic fields and a three story office building totaling approximately 190,000 sq. ft. with structured parking. A north-south public street is proposed from O'Neil Drive extending to a temporary cul-de-sac at the southern boundary of the site. The property consists of an outlot on O'Neil Drive south of 1-494 and west of Argenta Trail. A 2.35-acre portion of the subject site is located in Inver Grove Heights and will require separate action by the Inver Grove Heights city council for development and plat approval. Forestry Supervisor Gregg Hove, showed an aerial photo of the vacant site's rolling topography, scattered wooded areas and several wetlands. A tree inventory submitted with this application indicates that there are two-hundred thirty-seven (237) significant trees and thirty-two thousand nine-hundred fourteen (32,914) square feet (.76 acres) of significant woodlands in the inventory. Supervisor Hove reviewed the details of the tree removal proposed for this site and noted that the applicant has submitted a Tree Mitigation Plan that indicates the installation of two-hundred-two (202) Category B trees to fulfill tree mitigation requirements. Water Resources Coordinator, Eric Macbeth, showed a map of the site noting there are five wetland areas on the project site of which "A" and "B" are of high ecological quality because neither of these wetlands is connected to the City's stormwater drainage system. The assessments indicate wetlands "C," "D," and "E" to be of low ecological quality. Preliminary wetland management classifications being developed in Eagan's water quality management plan (WQMP) update process indicate wetlands "A" and "B" would receive the highest level of protection and approaches for this management classification may include: 1) avoidance of any impacts without demonstration of significant public benefit; 2) minimum natural vegetation buffer widths of 50 feet and average buffer widths of 75 feet; 3) 25-foot no-grade zone around wetlands; and 4) 25-foot structure setback from outer buffer edge. The other three wetlands would be protected similarly to what is provided by Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act (WCA) Rules. Macbeth stated the stormwater runoff from the site would drain west toward the Minnesota River. Macbeth said because of the size of the parcel, this project is subject to City water quality requirements. Macbeth said that the developer proposes to meet water quality requirements through innovative stormwater management such as rain gardens, underground storage (wet vaults), and underground infiltration pipes. No stormwater treatment basins were proposed. All stormwater from these practices would first be routed to the replacement wetlands and then to existing high quality wetlands. Macbeth informed the commission that specific information regarding stormwater management for approximately half of the site ("Outlet A" - commercial development portion) had not yet been provided by the developer. Advisory Parks Commission Minutes of Regular Meeting of June 19, 2006 Page 3 The developer has requested the City to exempt it from replacement standards, permitting 8,602-ft2 wetland "E" to be filled entirely. Historical evidence indicates wetland "E" was formed by construction of O'Neil Drive. Macbeth noted this is acceptable by the wetland technical advisory panel (TEP). The developer proposes to fill 20,460 square feet of the wetlands "C" and "D" entirely and to replace that impact with new wetland and by claiming 116,159 ft2 of public value credit for establishment of native grass upland habitat surrounding existing and created wetlands. The proposed amounts of replacement exceed the minimum 2:1 standards of the WCA Rules. Macbeth informed the commission that the TEP did not recommend approval of the wetland replacement plan due to lack of information regarding stormwater issues and missing detail for Outlet A. Representatives from Novus-Manly Commercial asked that Alternative 9 be approved based on the developer providing the missing information as soon as possible. The developer's engineer responded to questions from member Belfiori noting that there is no outlet for the proposed wetland because the water flows south to the agricultural fields and would continue to do so. Macbeth stated the TEP believes the road is an avoidable impact since its orientation can be shifted. Novus-Manly responded that requirements of office parking, school and athletic fields create the need for the orientation of the road, so the developer does not consider this an avoidable impact. After a brief discussion by the commission Member Belfiori moved, Member Filipi seconded; with all members present voting in favor to recommend to the City Council the following: 1. This proposal shall be responsible for a cash parks dedication. 2. This proposal shall be responsible for a cash trails dedication. 3. The applicant shall be required to fulfill tree mitigation requirements through the installation of one hundred eighty-one (181) Category B trees. 4. The applicant shall be required to protect the preserved tree's critical root zones through the placement of required Tree Protective measures (i.e.orange colored silt fence or 4 foot polyethylene laminate safety netting), to be installed at the Drip Line or at the perimeter of the Critical Root Zone, whichever is greater, of significant trees/woodlands to be preserved on-site. 5. The applicant shall be required to contact the City Forestry Division and set up a pre- construction site inspection at least five days prior to the issuance of the grading permit to ensure compliance with the approved Tree Preservation Plan and placement of the Tree Protection Fencing. 6. The wetland delineation report should be formally accepted as submitted. 7. The incidental wetland exemption request should be granted. 8. High quality wetlands "A" and "B" shall be protected according to the following provisions, all of which are proposed by the developer: a. avoidance of any impacts without demonstration of significant public benefit; b. minimum natural vegetation buffer width of 50 feet and average buffer width of 75 feet; c. 25-foot no-grade zone around wetlands; d. 25-foot structure setback from outer buffer edge, and e. a conservation easement for the surrounding area. Advisory Parks Commission Minutes of Regular Meeting of June 19, 2006 Page 4 9. Approval of the wetland replacement plan application will occur upon: a. The receipt of additional technical information regarding overall site stormwater issues, ensuring that stormwater will not exceed the volume and bounce beyond the current existing conditions and receipt of specific replacement wetland construction strategies. b. The developer providing a maintenance agreement to ensure that maintenance will occur for any underground stormwater practices. c. The developer demonstrating that amounts and fluctuations of stormwater to the wetlands do not exceed existing conditions. d. The developer providing a post-project assessment of the replacement wetlands (using the standard MNRAM protocols) to the TEP for it to determine if the constructed replacement wetland basins at least meet the functions and values of the impacted wetlands. OLD BUSINESS Patrick Eagan Park Master Plan Update Director Johnson updated the Commission regarding the Patrick Eagan Park Master Plan. The consultants have met with the staff and done a walk through at Patrick Eagan Park. On June 20 the consultants will meet with the Friends of the Eagan Core Greenway and in the future will be meeting with the Caponi Art Park Board and the Art House Board. The consultants will likely be at the next workshop meeting on July 17. NEW BUSINESS 2007 Fees and Charges Director Johnson introduced this item, stating that the APrC annually reviews the fees charged for private use of park facilities and recreation equipment. During the review and discussion of the 2007 fees and charges staff suggested the consideration of a 5% overall increase in all fees. This would offset inflationary increases that have occurred since the last increase in 2004. An increase of 10% from 2003 to 2004 was the last time a fee increase was proposed and approved. The service of providing rental facilities and amenities to the community is a valuable service and the city is also mindful of the need to maintain a level of cost recovery for services. Member Danner opined that the City should re-consider the rental fee for facilities used for fund raising activities. She cited several cities within the metropolitan area that offer a lower fee to local organizations for their fund-raising efforts. After a brief discussion, Chair Peterson suggested that since the Recreation Subcommittee will be meeting to discuss other proposed fees that might be incorporated into the overall fee schedule that they re-visit the rental fee for fund raising and bring further discussion and recommendations back to the APrC for consideration. Member Pletcher moved and Chair Peterson seconded, with all present members voting in favor to recommend to the City Council approval of the 2007 fee schedule as presented which reflects a 5% increase in all fees. Advisory Parks Commission Minutes of Regular Meeting of June 19, 2006 Page 5 OTHER BUSINESS AND REPORTS There was no other business and reports to discuss. WATER RESOURCES UPDATE Member Belfiori asked for input from the commission regarding the timeline for sharing information about the Water Quality Management Plan with the public. He shared a preliminary timeline that would show public meetings occurring in late summer as well as dates in which the APrC sould be brought up to date with the actual plan and its implications to the City of Eagan. It is expected that this project will be completed before 2007. ROUND TABLE Member Pletcher reminded viewers that Saturday and Sunday is the Eagan Art Fair. Member Danner noted that Caponi Art Park is featured is the June Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to conduct, Member Pletcher moved, Member Bari seconded with all members voting in favor to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m. S retary Date